#FreechargeWallet: Creating an India that doesn’t need to use cash

In line with our vision to create India’s most impactful digital commerce ecosystem that creates life-changing experiences for buyers and sellers, we are happy and proud to announce the launch of yet another innovation which will change the way people pay in India – the FreeCharge Wallet. This trusted wallet service will transform digital transactions by enabling super easy and hyper secure payments, and contribute in the creation of a cashless economy.

With the launch of the FreeCharge Wallet, our goal is to change the way consumers and businesses make payments in India. A secure, easy to use and feature-rich service, the wallet is equipped with trailblazing technology and a robust partner network, making it a truly game-changing service that will bring value to consumers and our partners in the ecosystem. Just the way Snapdeal revolutionized the way sellers and buyers transact in India – the FreeCharge Wallet would transform the way payments are made and received in the country by consumers and businesses. We will offer world class payments technology, Made in India, Made for India.

With an ecosystem of 87 million registered users, 8.2 million daily unique users, 4 million monthly engaged hours, 15 million stored cards, combined network GMV of >$4 Billion, our goal is to build FreeCharge Wallet into India’s most trusted and used wallet in the next 6 months. The leading digital payment companies of the world have a deep relationship with a large anchor merchant: Alipay – Taobao, PayPal – eBay, are a couple of the most prominent global examples. Snapdeal will provide this anchoring to the FreeCharge Wallet. In fact, this is a unique combination for India, where a high turnover - GMV (Snapdeal) and a high transaction velocity (FreeCharge) platform are part of the same company thereby driving great synergies and making both platforms symbiotically stronger. We will bring this strength of scale, technology and convenience to the table for all online and offline merchants who partner with FreeCharge Wallet – we believe in a culture of partnerships; we would enable the success of every partner in the FreeCharge Wallet family.

Launch of FreeCharge Wallet is also aligned with Indian government’s digital payments initiative; the Digital India program envisages a smartphone in the hand of every Indian by 2019. The government is evangelizing financial inclusion through its newly-launched Jan Dhan Yojana, or people's wealth program, to bring the unbanked into the organized financial services sector. India is in the middle of the biggest digital and financial revolution and we are thrilled to be a part of it. For this, FreeCharge Wallet is partnering with FINO, a payment bank licensee to ensure we offer FreeCharge Wallet to everyone who needs it.

FreeCharge is already a leader in online utility payments in India; we have a long way to go to bring efficiency in this space. No one should have to travel anywhere to pay their telecom, electricity or water bills; paying these bills should be as simple as a single tap on your phone from the comfort of your home. The Government’s initiative around Bharat Bill payments system will help to unify the current fragmented payments system. With the launch of the FreeCharge Wallet, our aim is to bring the next level of efficiencies in digital payments of every consumption need that a user may have and play an even more intrinsic role in our users’ lives. The adoption of digital payments will cannibalize slow and ineffective payment mechanisms like cash and cheques; it would further propel us towards a transparent, cashless society.

This great landmark has been possible due intense collaboration between FreeCharge and Snapdeal – the teams have worked tirelessly over the past few months in making this possible.

We look forward to welcoming you over the coming weeks into the FreeCharge Wallet family. Please do share your ideas with us on how we can create an India that doesn’t use cash using FreeCharge Wallet.